Regular construction work on all Metro corridors resumed on Monday after lying suspended for nearly one month due to the nationwide lockdown owing to the novel coronavirus outbreak.
The Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority (MMRDA) started work after the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) gave conditional permission for work to resume on construction projects.
“Work on all Metro corridors has either started or is in the process of starting. We are ensuring that adequate social distancing is maintained and the workers are given masks and sanitisers,” an MMRDA spokesperson said.
According to guidelines laid down by the BMC, work cannot take place in a containment zone and no workers can be brought in from outside. MMRDA officials said the 11,000-odd workers who are associated with their projects continue to stay in camps and are provided for.
“Most of the work sites are on arterial roads like the Western Express Highway and Link Road, which are not yet within containment zones,” a senior MMRDA official said.
Last week, the development authority had started critical pre-monsoon works on the Western Express Highway and other work sites. With roughly six weeks for the monsoon to begin, the works had to be started to ensure that projects did not pose a safety hazard.
Nine Metro corridors are at different stages of construction in Mumbai and adjoining regions. MMRDA officials said the timelines of all projects are bound to be affected due to the suspension of work, and they are in the process of determining the extent of the delay.
Metro Line 2A, between DN Nagar and Dahisar, was expected to be completed by December this year, while Metro Line 7, between Andheri (East) and Dahisar (East), was planned to be thrown open by early 2021.